Every EU member state formats its VAT number differently. Pick a country to see its prefix, length, local name and the input mistakes that most often turn a real number into an "invalid" VIES result, then validate the numbers against VIES.
An EU VAT number always starts with a two-letter prefix, followed by a country-specific block of digits and sometimes letters. The prefix is usually the ISO country code, with one exception: Greece uses EL instead of GR. Northern Ireland businesses trading goods with the EU use the XI prefix.
The VIES service run by the European Commission forwards each query to the tax administration of the member state that issued the number and reports whether that number is currently valid for intra-EU transactions. justaxit checks the format of every number first, so entries with the wrong shape for their country are flagged instantly and never sent to VIES.
No. The part after the prefix is 8 characters for countries such as Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg but 12 for Sweden and the Netherlands, and some countries allow several lengths, such as Czechia (8 to 10 digits), Lithuania (9 or 12) and Romania (2 to 10).
VIES identifies Greece as EL, from the Greek name of the country (Ellada). A Greek VAT number entered with GR will not be found, even if the nine digits are correct.
Yes. Paste a mixed list into the batch EU VAT checker, one number per line with its country prefix, and each number is sent to the right member state through VIES.
No. Since the end of the Brexit transition period, GB VAT numbers are not in VIES. Only Northern Ireland numbers with the XI prefix can be checked there, for trade in goods. GB numbers are checked with HMRC on the UK VAT number check.